


Across the Multiverse

by Sophabuggy



Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: 2012 leo is a mood, Crossover, Gen, appreciation for both shows, basically a rise 2012 crossover, both sibling realtionships are accurate, both splinters are good dads trying their best, canon-typical violence and language(maybe some hells sprinkled in for flavor), even though 2012 is a lot different from rise, meaning i might add the 2003 and 1987 turtles but we'll see, might make the crossover bigger depending on how the story progresses, no bashing cause fuck that, revive rise Nick or i will HUNT you
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:27:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26964427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sophabuggy/pseuds/Sophabuggy
Summary: Takes place after the season 2 finale of Rise, and after the season 4 finale of 2012.Four teenage turtles are having a regular family night: Hanging around, watching tv, ordering pizza; that is, it was normal until Leo's portal turned from blue to green in the second the siblings walked in.Meanwhile, in another universe, Four other mutant turtles are patrolling as they usually do at this particular time of night. When they decide to split up, though, is when one of the unlucky four is greeted with a turtle pile on his head, and himself and his siblings in front of him, only, they...arent?
Comments: 102
Kudos: 476





	1. A Very Messy Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> 2012 Turtles:  
> Leonardo  
> Raphael  
> Donatello  
> Michelangelo
> 
> Rise Turtles:  
> Leo  
> Raph  
> Donnie  
> Mikey

It was a Saturday night as the siblings put on Lou Jitsu for the 3rd time that week to watch with their father and each other. As usual, Raph was on the floor with Mikey directly above him, both eating popcorn. Donnie had his body planted on the arm of the couch with Leo right below him, holding onto Donnie's legs playfully. Splinter, of course, was rocking on his chair, blissfully falling to sleep around his sons. 

"You know what this needs?" Raph all but calmly exclaimed, somehow still not waking Splinter.

"Pizza?" Mikey responded

"Pizza!" Raph replied back, both high giving each other.

"Where would we get pizza, it's nearly the middle of the night and most delivery places are closed," Donnie remarked as he tinkered on his battle shell which was sitting on his lap while he watched the movie.

"I got an idea!" Leo started, "how about I dress up as a human and go order some pizza in person!" He finished with a grin on his face.

"What?! No way, nuh-uh, no how," Raph protectively said as he stood up and crossed his arms. "We can go a night without pizza, besides, if we really need it we can always ask April," he said to his younger mischievous brother.

"Raph you know that's not true, April would kill us if we woke her up at this hour. Plus, what are you afraid of? I have my swords, not to mention my amazing skills and awesome one-liners!" Leo said with a smirk, as he slid over to Raph and leaned on him.

"He is right, you know. If he did get attacked he could always annoy his opponent to death," Donnie replied without looking away from his battle shell.

Raph sighed, "it's just that...whenever we go out, we almost always run into trouble."

"If you're that scared Raph, Then why don't you guys come with me? C'mon it won't be that long! Only a couple minutes."

"Noooo no no no no nope," Donnie finally looked up as he started talking, "I would rather not go out at midnight in the pitch black dressed as a human just for some pizza."

Donnie's eyes slowly got bigger as Leo and Mikey started using their special attack against him.

Puppy eyes

"Mmmm" Donnie hummed through his closed mouth as he went from an expression filled with annoyance to a slowly cracking expression, to finally, a sigh as he bowed his head and put his battle shell slowly and safely on the ground.

"UuuUH _fine,_ but if we're dressing as humans then I can't wear my battle shell unless you want me to look like the elephant man," Donnie finally blurted out with annoyance. He turned to see Leo and Mikey staring at him, eyes beaming.

"Woohoo!! Pizza time!" Leo shouted.

"Quiet blue!" Splinter suddenly and scarily shouted at Leo, making all the brothers flinch and scuttle out of the room.

  
**Meanwhile, in another universe…**

Four mutant turtles were hopping from building to building, conducting their nightly patrol as they had for the last couple years of their lives. Leonardo led the group until they made it to one of the largest warehouses in the city.

“Alright guys, this is where we’re gonna split up,” Leo announced to his brothers. Ever since the Shredder had been killed, the town had been a lot safer. No more gang wars, no more robberies(or at least, not as much as before), and no more foot clan. Of course, Tiger Claw and Fishface still roamed with their few remaining shards of dignity, but they were nothing the turtles had to really worry about. Because of this, the brothers had all decided that it would be better if they simply split up, and called one another if something went wrong. There have been the occasional heists and run-ins with foot mutants, but overall, everything was going fairly well.

“I call North this time,” Raph announced, seemingly not taking no for an answer.

“Ok? Any particular reason?” Leo asked, confused.   
  
“Have you _seen_ South Nyc?” Raph announced before pushing by his brother clad in blue and headed north. 

“Fair enough,” Leo shrugged, continuing, “Mikey, you take the East, Donnie, you go West. I guess I'm heading South tonight,” Leo finished before making his way to the southside of the city.

“You got it, Leo!” Mikey shouted with his hand waving in the air. “Alrighty D, I'll see ya on the flip side!” Mikey said, finger gunning at his brother, before turning around and hoping off the roof with an excited yell.

“Ok then, I guess I'm doing this again,” Donnie said aloud to no one in particular.

It had only been 10 minutes. Only 10 minutes of Donatello roaming around the streets of West New York looking for vandalism and crime before something happened. 

Donnie was mumbling to himself about an astronomical equation he had been working on as he patrolled. With his bo staff in hand, Donnie had gone into what seemed like his 50th alleyway that night, although it didn't end with him simply walking out of it like every other time.

Nope. This time, after a near blinding flash of green light from above his head, four figures had landed on Donatello, far from gracefully.

From under a pile of what felt like solid 500 pounds of weight, Donnie heard someone say something. 

“And he sticks the landing!” 


	2. Everything's a Bit Confusing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The turtles of the rise universe drop in. literally. Donatello has a hard time comprehending what's going on, and the other turtles are just as confused as to what circumstances lead them into this universe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Same names from the notes as the last chapter. The 2012 turtles will go by their full names, while the Rise turtles will go by their nicknames. This chapter's a bit longer, so enjoy!

“And he sticks the landing!” Leo shouted as he landed on Mikey’s shell, which was covered with an old jacket. He could hear moans from under him, causing Leo to quickly hop off his brothers.

“Jeez Leo, I thought you said you were portaling us to the nearest pizza place,” Mikey told his brother as he got up and stretched, helping Donnie up afterward.

“Hey it's not like I _ meant _ to portal us to a random alleyway in the middle of nowhere,” Leo defended himself, picking up the swords he dropped, “Besides, I can just portal us to where we were supposed to go originally. It's no big deal mis hermanos,” he said aloud with his hand up.

“Well, would you hurry it up? There's a reason I wear my battle shell when we go out, and I didn't really expect to be nearly crushed by you and Mikey. I'm just glad Raph fell down first,” Donnie said to his brother, already annoyed.

“Well, I'm just glad we didn't fall on anyone,” Mikey announced with a wary smile.

“Uhh about that-,” Raph said as he slowly stood up, before being interrupted.

“Hurry up Leo,” Donnie said again, his anger increasing every second Leo’s portal was not opened. 

“I-I'm trying, it's not- It won't open,” 

“...What do you mean,  _ It won't open _ ?” Donnie asked, aggravated. 

“Guys-,” 

“I  _ mean _ , It won't open,” Leo announced again, irritation in his voice.

“Well  _ make _ it open Leon,” 

“You think I'm not  _ trying? _ ”

“Try harder!”

“I'm doing what I always do! I don't know why it's not working!

“ _ Maybe _ it's because you-,”

“Guys!” Raph finally shouted, causing the other three turtles to turn around to him, just in time to hear groans from somebody keeling over on the floor. All four siblings looked with wide eyes at the being in front of them.

“How come this stuff always happens to me?” Donatello managed to question in a raspy voice, one hand on the ground along with his knees, the other clenching his head, “first a monkey, then an alligator, and now this…” 

“Woah...so we  _ did _ fall on someone,” Mikey announced after a feigned moment of surprise.

“Yes Mikey, we fell on someone,” Raph told his younger brother with a slightly exasperated expression, “but that's not why I’m surprised,”

After a few seconds of gaining his composure, Donatello finally managed to understand what had just been said, his eyes widening and head shooting up at the sentence.

“Wait- Mikey?”

Suddenly, everything started spinning. Not because the equivalent of what felt like a truck had been dropped on him and he had just moved his head without determining if it was concussion worthy; well, that was apart of it, but mainly, Donatello couldn't quite comprehend the four mutant turtles standing in front of him, all wearing the same color bandanas he and his brothers wore. It didn't take a genius to piece together who they were, especially because one of them had been referred to as “Mikey”, but what really threw Donnie off was how... _ different _ they all looked. 

Slowly turning his head to look at each turtle in front of him, Donatello stopped in his tracks at the largest brother, who was hulking over him in a red bandana.

“You’re... _ Raph? _ ” Donnie managed to say, before clutching his head quickly, “Ugh, I think I really  _ do _ have a concussion,”

“Woah… you know my name?” Raph asked curiously, eyes wide.

“Well, I’m kinda making an educated guess, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to make the conclusion that you four are probably from another universe considering your four mutant turtles with the same colors and names as me and my brothers,” Donatello said nonchalantly, “God knows it's happened before anyway,”

“Wait a second, we’re in another  _ universe _ !?” Mikey shouted, causing Donatello to grip his head even harder. “Since when can you portal us to different universes Leo?!” 

Heads turned to Leo, who looked like a deer in headlights.

“I-I can't. I mean I've never been able to before, and nothing has changed. It's not like I had any run-ins with mystic stuff, I made the portal at home!” Leo said frantically, trying to figure out why his swords had suddenly decided to go into the territory of universe hopping.

“Let me see them,” Donnie told Leo, holding his hand out for the two ninjato. After Leo handed them over, Donnie flipped on his goggles, and started inspecting the swords.

“Do you… see anything?-” Leo asked expectantly, only to earn a single finger up, symbolizing the term ‘be quiet’.

After about 30 seconds of looking at the swords and turning them all over, Donnie sighed and put his goggles back on his head, handing the weapons back over to Leo.

“Ya, I don't know what happened, but there's no mystic energy coming from your ninjatos anymore Leo. I think you broke them,” Donnie said with a straight face.

“WhAT?!” Leo shouted staring at his swords, “But I didn't even do anything! I couldn’t have broken them!”

“Well, it's either that or there's no mystic energy in this place,” Donnie said matter-of-factly, before wondering for a second. “Actually, that's not a far off answer. Mikey, try to use your nunchucks,”

“Alrighty!” Mikey responded, taking out his weapons, only for the nunchakus to swing quickly, before falling to the sides of Mikey’s hands, earning a stare from the three siblings.

“Alright, it looks like it's the ladder option then. No mystic in this world,” Donnie announced after a beat of silence, putting his goggles back on to examine Mikey’s weapons just in case.

“No mystic? How are we supposed to get home?” Leo asked, getting a little worried.

“I have a feeling the answer to that question is in front of us,” Donnie said, before turning to see his counterpart, still on the floor clenching his head, with Raph kneeling beside him just in case.

As they were looking at the turtle kneeling on the ground, Leo started to take off his ‘human’ clothes, earning a glance from Mikey.

“What? We’re in another universe, I'm pretty sure we aren't getting that pizza any time soon, so no reason to pretend to be human,” Leo said as he removed his clothes, causing a chain reaction of the other turtles to take off their human disguises as well.

“Fair enough,” Mikey replied, taking off his jacket.

“So other me, I'm guessing by the purple at least,” Donnie started, motioning to the turtle, who slowly looked up, “Do  _ you  _ have any idea how we got here?”

“What? Of course not. One second I'm patrolling the West side of the city like I normally do, the next I'm on the ground with four mutant turtles that look like my brothers piled on top of me,” Donatello said, annoyed, before taking another cursory glance at the turtles before him, “Or, at least, resemble my brothers,”

“Oh ya! If we’re in another universe, that means there are other us’s! Hey other Donnie, where are your brothers? Oh oh oh, what are they like? Is your other Mikey as cool as me?! Oh, how about Leo?!” Mikey’s rambling was cut off by a hand that was placed over his mouth by his older brother.

“Alright baby bro, I know everything's kinda crazy right now, but how about we wait until we actually know what's going on before asking about the other us’s,” Leo said, standing by Mikey, before taking his hand away.

“Aw, fine,” Mikey said, defeated.

“Anyway,” Donnie started, eyes turning from Mikey to his counterpart, “do you think you could help us out a little? Sadly my lab and all my tech are still in my universe because  _ somebody _ ,” Donnie glanced angrily at Leo, “wanted to get pizza in the middle of the night,”

“Um, give me a second,” Donatello said before reaching over for the bo staff that had fallen a few feet beside him when he was nearly crushed. Seeing this, Raph reached over and grabbed it, giving the weapon back to Donatello. 

“Thanks,” He said cautiously before using said bo staff as a sort of crutch to help him stand up, his hand still resting on his head in case he got dizzy from moving. “Of course I'll help you. This isn't really my first rodeo with another universe, sadly. The lair is pretty far away though, and technically I'm still supposed to be patrolling right now, but I think Leo will give me the benefit of the doubt. I’ll call my brothers and tell them what happened, and then we can head to the lair and figure out how exactly you got here, and what, or who caused it,” 

“That sounds fine,” Raph said, finally taking lead after the initial round of shock wore off.

“Alright, I'll go call my brothers and give them a quick rundown, you guys stay here in the shadows,” Donatello told the four alternate turtles, who simply nodded and watched him go out of the alleyway.

“So…” Leo said after a beat of silence, “His shell didn't look that soft,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes, I know, I'm gonna bet a lot of you really wanted both sets of turtles to meet each other, but don't worry! It's coming up! I just like having a good amount of context so that the story doesn't seem rushed, and the excitement builds up before the actual meeting, but don't worry! They will meet soon!
> 
> By the way, if you guys are wondering why I'm using the term universe instead of dimension (since it's usually called different dimensions in the TMNT shows), it's because, when the term dimension is used, it usually refers to a timeline that happened because of an event. For example, in SAINW, the world Donatello was transported to was a different dimension that was created because of something that happened within the 2003 universe, but all dimensions of the 2003 TMNT show reside within the 2003 universe if that makes sense. 2012 TMNT and Rise TMNT can't necessarily be different dimensions, since they aren't really timelines that were the result of something happening in a particular world. Just an explanation of my word choice. It's a little confusing, so if you don't get it it's honestly fine. It won't affect your reading at all.


	3. Getting to Know Each Other

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donatello informs Leonardo what's going on, and he and the other four turtles have some back and forth about the differences of their respective universes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! This chapter is, again, fairly longer than the previous ones, and it might seem a little slow, but I promise the story will pick up the pace soon. I just really want to make sure no one's OOC. I also tried to make the banter between Donnie and Leo as natural as possible, so pls forgive me if it doesn't seem right!

Leonardo was running along the tops of apartment buildings as he usually did when patrolling when he heard a ringing. Coming to a sudden stop on a water tower that resided atop a roof, Leo pulled his T-phone out. Seeing it was Donnie who was calling, an unnerving feeling involuntarily took over. It wasn’t often that his brothers called him when patrolling the city, but when they did, it was never butterflies and rainbows. Quickly pressing the green telephone signal and bringing the screen to his head, Leo immediately prepared for the worst.

“What's wrong Donnie?” Leo quickly asked, worried.

“Hey Leo,” Donatello started, still sounding slightly pained, “Listen, something happened. It's not like ‘life or death’ or anything though, but it is kind of a big deal,” Donnie managed to articulate, trying to find the right words to use so that his brother wouldn't get the wrong idea.

“You sound hurt,” Leonardo noticed, brushing off Donnie's previous statement for the time being, “What happened?”

“Ya, that kind of ties into what the ‘big deal’ is,” Donnie told his brother, who was now getting slightly annoyed.

“Alright, well are you gonna leave me in the dark here, or are you gonna tell me what happened?” Leo asked yet again.

“Leo,” Donnie laughed, exasperated, “you don't understand. I’m trying to-” 

“Well just start from the beginning,” Leo cut him off.

Donnie sighed, “Alright, well, I was patrolling like I usually do, when I came into a random alleyway which I thought was normal until a portal opened above my head-” Donnie wasn't able to finish his story as Leo interrupted.

“ _Portal_?! What kind? Oh please don't tell me we have to deal with dimension X again,” Leo asked, going from startled to irritated in a split second. 

“No, I don't think it had anything to do with the Kraang,”

“What makes you so sure,” Leo questioned, curious.

“What came out of it,” Donnie replied, “When the portal opened, it dropped, get this, four mutant turtles on my head,” Donnie finally finished, for the time being, giving his brother a moment to piece things together.

After a quick second of silence, Donnie suddenly heard an exhausted sigh from the other side of the phone.

“Let me guess, they were all wearing colored bandanas and had the same names as us,” Leo stated more than guessed.

“Bingo.” 

Leo brought his left hand to his head and rubbed his temple, “You’ve gotta be kidding me,” He mumbled.

“Sadly, no. From what I heard, they don't know how they got here, and they asked if I could help. I was going to take them back to the lab, but I didn't know if you wanted me to finish patrolling or-”

“No, it's fine, I’ll search the rest of the Westside. You get back to the lair and figure out what's going on,” Leo told his brother after regaining a bit of his composure.

“Alright. Thanks, Leo,” Donnie thanked his brother.

“No problem D, just get home safe ok?”

“Yeah, you too, see ya,”

“Bye,” Leo said before ending the call.

“We can never catch a break, can we?” He asked no one in particular, before turning and heading West.

Donnie put his phone back into his belt strap, before returning to the alleyway where he left him and his brother’s counterparts.

“Look Donald, all I'm saying is that I doubt your tech would be able to fix it. I mean, it seemed like it was based around some sort of mystic power,” Donatello heard as he turned a corner, slightly cringing at the nickname ‘Donald’ for some reason.

“And all _I’m_ saying is that I'm just as good as any of this mystic stuff and you know it. My bo staff is all tech, and it can go up one on one against all of your guys’ mystic weapons,” The other Donnie retorted, sounding pretty pissed off after what seemed like only a couple of minutes of Donatello being gone.

“Let's just stop the fighting, alright? it's not gonna help us in this situation,” Raph said aloud, stepping between the two arguing turtles. 

“I never thought I’d say this, but Raph is right,” Donatello announced to the four siblings, who all turned their heads. “Fighting won't do us any good, but if my suspicions are correct, then I have a feeling I might be able to help you guys. This _did_ happen to me and my brothers before, remember. We kind of already have a starting point to go off of,” Donatello finished, holding his bo staff with both hands.

“Thanks,” Raph said, “Me and my brothers really appreciate the help, even if it doesn't seem like it,” Raph told Donatello, looking back at Leo and Donnie, both of whom rolled their eyes.

“It's no problem, really,” Donatello, who was slightly thrown off by this big Ralph's personality, told the large turtle. “Oh, if you don't mind me asking, besides the whole turtle thing, you guys look a whole lot different from me and my brothers. Are you...different species?” Donatello asked, intrigued.

“Why yes, we ar-” Donnie started, but was cut off by a hand to his face. “You got it other D! Our Don here is a soft shell, little Mikey is a box turtle, Raph over there is a snapping turtle and yours truly,” Leo paused, pointing to himself, “is a one of a kind red-eared slider,”

Before Donatello could ask anything, Donnie scoffed. 

“First of all, Raph is an _alligator_ snapping turtle, there is a difference, similar to how there is a difference between softshell and spiny softshell, and second of all, red-eared sliders are one of the most prominent turtles on the planet,” Donnie retorted to his arrogant brother.

“Well there aren't that many half red eared sliders, half-human mutants in the world, are there,” Leo spit back.

“And by that logic, all of us would be one of a kind, which we technically are,”

“Exactly! Thanks for backing me up D,” Leo shouted as he slapped his brother’s back, Donnie’s expression causing Mikey to chuckle.

“Heh, o...k then,” Donatello mumbled as the arguing finally stopped.

“You guys,” Ralph said in a disapproving tone, “I'm sorry, I know they can be annoying sometimes,”

“What? No, you guys aren't annoying,” Donatello cleared up, “it's just, your personalities are, kind of.... _different_ than me and my brothers is all,”

“Speaking of differences, We told you our species, mind telling us what you guys are?” Donnie questioned with a still slightly annoyed expression.

“Oh, ya, here I'll answer you guys' questions as we walk. Just follow me, the lair isn't too far from here,” Donatello assured them.

“Ooo Sounds fun!” Mikey announced, getting in between Leo and Donnie as they all started following Donatello to Lair.

“So, to answer your question, from the information our father gave us and from some studies I did, I’m almost positive my brothers and I are diamondback terrapins,”

“So THAT explains the shell,” Mikey said aloud, causing Donatello to glance back for a second, “Oh, sorry, I'm just so used to seeing Donnie with his armor, I was wondering if you had just made the armor super realistic or something, but what you said makes more sense,” Mikey told Donatello, who looked at the other Donnie.

“So you wear armor to protect your soft shell?” Donatello asked, fascinated.

“Yep. I don't have the protection my brothers do, so I made a sort of...artificial shell,” Donnie happily replied.

“That's...amazing,” Donatello said, genuinely intrigued about these different turtles.

“Thanks, other...me, but back to what you were saying before if you and your brothers are all the same species, does that mean you are biologically related? Well, besides Splinter’s DNA,” Donnie asked.

“I've thought about that, but because of the mutation and the limited information we have, I can only really _assume_ we came from the same mother because we were sold like a brood. There's no concrete evidence, sadly,” Donatello explained, looking down.

“That's still pretty cool though D,” Leo announced, wrapping an arm around Donatello, who shrunk back from the sudden touch of his very jumpy alternate brother, “I would _kill_ for there to even be a possibility all of us were related before we were mutated,” He finished, arm still hung around Donatello.

“You would?” Donatello asked, genuinely curious.

“...eh, not really, but it's still pretty cool!” Leo admitted to his alternate brother.

“Huh, I...guess it is,” Donatello muttered to himself.

“Anyway,” Donnie again started speaking, “Back to questions, you mentioned you and your brothers have a different personality than us before? Care to explain?” Donnie asked Donatello, who looked at his alternate self.

“Oh ya, definitely. I-” Donatello stopped in his tracks when he noticed the familiar streets of his home and looked to see the sewer manhole he and his brothers often climbed out from, “Oh, well, looks like we’re here. I'll tell you all about me and my brothers inside. Cmon,” Donatello told the four mutant turtles as he gestured towards the manhole and lifted it up.

“Ah, I can't wait to hear about the other us’s!” Mikey shouted before jumping down the hole into the sewer waters, along with his brothers and finally Donatello.

On the other side of town, a green light flashed, and 3 beings fell hard onto the concrete of the dirty sidewalk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think you can tell I'm drawing out the meeting of the turtles, but it's really not on purpose. Like I said in the last chapter, I really just want it to flow naturally into them meeting each other. The worst type of writing for me is when it's rushed. You don't really get that "WOW" moment, yknow? Anyway, don't worry! It's coming soon, I swear! And there's a lot more to the story than meets the eye, so keep a lookout for foreshadowing ;)
> 
> (Also, in the middle of the chapter, I'm not calling the brother's annoying, just pointing to the fact that Raph views their banter that way often. I find it very funny actually!)


	4. A Little More Background

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donatello talks with the other turtles about his world and his brothers, and they do the same. Each turtle is surprised by what they're hearing. How can these worlds be so different, yet eerily similar?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the turtles are still going to be referred to as the names I gave them in the first chapter, except during dialogue. I'm still deciding whether to make it an actual part of the story, in which the turtles differentiate each other so they don't constantly use their nicknames, but I just think it'd be weird having the 2012 turtles calling each other by their full names the entire story.
> 
> Also! This chapter is like twice as long as the other chapters were. I'm trying to make reading it more satisfying, but school's a bitch, so I don't get a lot of free time sadly. I'll try though!

“Wow, this is a lot more... _dull_ than our lair,” Leo blurted out, earning a nudge from Raph.

“Heh, ya. You’ve gotta work with whatcha got,” Donatello said, jumping over the subway turnstiles that led into the turtles’ home. The four other siblings followed, eyes skimming over the alternate lair, focusing on the specific changes, like how small it was compared to theirs, the punching bag in the living room instead of just in Raph’s room, and the addition of an actual couch instead of just a singular recliner. 

“Mi casa es su casa,” Donatello told them, noticing the staring that was happening, “it's not much and based on your reactions, definitely different from your lair, but it's home. Anyway, the lab is right here,” He said, moving to the left and putting his hands onto the handles to two sliding doors and opening them.

  
Walking into his lab, Donatello decided to take his eyes away from the others, slightly afraid to see their reactions. Who knows what kind of technology they had, or for that matter, how much more advanced they were? They already had been talking about this ‘mystic’ stuff, which was more out of the ordinary than usual. 

Quickly moving to his desk at the back left of the room, Donatello pulled out one of his many homemade computers and started looking for something that could help him.

Meanwhile, as the others entered the lab, they were all slightly shocked. Not because it was incredibly advanced, or particularly captivating, but because it was so monumentally different. There were no neon shades of purple, half the tech was almost unrecognizable like it came from outer space, and of course, there was no armor or bo-staff tech. Donnie had to admit, though. It _would_ be interesting to see where his intelligence went when it wasn't simply focused on his own protection for a good amount of the time.

“Woah other Donnie, this place is cool. A lot more laid back then your lab, huh Donaldo?” Mikey said aloud as he took a slight jab at Donnie, who mumbled a quiet ‘ya’ as he surveyed the lab.

“Fairly different, I'm assuming?” Donatello asked no one in particular.

“Fairly? Extremely,” Leo responded without thinking.

“Well, I have a feeling you're gonna have a lot of that reaction the longer you stay in my world,” He told the four brothers, who looked at each other in a mixture of amusement and suspense.

“So, where do you think we should start first?” Raph asked Donatello, who had by now pulled an alien-like device from a shelf and started booting it up with the computer.

“Well, I'd like _my_ brothers to come home before we make any plans or go into any detail about what happened, but while we wait I'm just gonna try to determine what it was I saw when you so gracefully fell from the sky,” Donatello responded jokingly, quickly typing something into the computer that looked like scribble to Raph.

“Speaking of brothers,” A voice came from the back, causing Donatello to gently turn his head, “What are the other us’s even like?” Leo asked while examining a vial of red-ish orange slime. Eyes wide, Donatello quickly hopped out of his chair and ran over to Leo, snatching the vial from his hand as gently as possible. 

“Don't touch that!” Donatello blurted out, as he slowly placed said vial back onto the rack residing on the shelf Leo had taken it from.

“Woahh, geez sorry, didn't think it was that important,” Leo said with his hands up, signaling he didn't mean any harm.

“Leo, keep your hands off the stuff,” Raph told him, causing Leo to turn back to the large snapping turtle.

“Oh cmon, how was I s'posed to know? It was a random glass container with slime, it looked like a mini lava lamp,” Leo tried defending himself. 

As Raph and Leo kept talking, Donatello’s eyes drifted to them in amazement.

“Does…” he started, “Does this happen often?” Donatello asked, extremely confused.

“What? You mean Leo and Raph arguing? All the time! Wow, I'm surprised it doesn't happen here,” Mikey told the tall turtle, who quickly looked over at the two other turtles.

“N-no, my Leo and Raph fight constantly. I was talking about Raph being the responsible one and Leo being the…” Donatello paused, trying to look for the right word.

“Idiot?” Donnie stated more than questioned, resulting in a concerned look from Donatello.

“Hey, if he's an idiot then I'm a moron,” Mikey stated proudly, earning a raised eyebrow from Donnie.

“I was gonna say... laid back, I guess?” Donatello finally finished, still staring at the two arguing turtles.

“Why? Is your Leo different,” Donnie asked, curious, earning a quick and concise chuckle from Donatello.

“Well-” As Donatello was about to talk, he was cut off by a long and loud grunt from Leo.

“Fine! I'm sorry for touching your little doohickey, even though it was in the middle of the shelf with no warnings whatsoever,” Leo apologized half-heartedly. Donatello simply stared at him. He'd never heard a Leo say something like that before, “What was so important about it anyway?”

“Oh, it's not really that it was important, more that it was very dangerous,” Donatello explained, trying to justify his reaction.

Walking back to sit in his seat, he continued, “The thing you picked up was a vial filled with retro-mutagen,” Donatello told all of them, “One drop of that on your skin, and you'd turn back into a regular turtle,” 

Chills were quickly sent down each brother’s spine from that sentence.

“Wait a second,” Donnie said aloud, getting ready to purge all of his thoughts, “Not only were you able to isolate ooze from the oozesquitos, but you also found out a way to reverse engineer it?” Donnie asked, flabbergasted.

“Uh, oozesquitos?” Donatello questioned, not looking up from the computer.

“You know, the little mosquitos that bite people and turn them into mutants, that whole situation,” Mikey told Donatello, whose head shot up at the description.

“What?! That sounds horrible! They're just roaming randomly around the city?” Donatello asked, horrified at the proposition that any human could turn into a mutant at any given time just because of random bugs flying around.

“Basically. We’ve tried to capture a lot of them before, but we used a yokai spider’s webs, who turned out to be evil and tried to send us into the battle nexus, and the bugs ended up getting released in the end because their maker or whatever found out about it, so it was kind of a one time deal,” Mikey said nonchalantly, a finger on his chin to help him remember all that happened that day.

“O...oh,” Donatello replied, much more confused than he was before.

“So you guys don't have oozesquitos?” Donnie asked his alter, who turned to him and shook her head, “Then, how do you get your ooze?”

“Oh,” Donatello said, eyes lighting up as he stood and walked over to a small chest he had on the other side of the room, “Well, we call it mutagen, but,” He continued, supposedly finding what he was looking for and reaching in to grab it. 

Holding a fairly large empty canister in his hands, Donatello showed the four other turtles and continued talking, “I got it from this,” He said.

The siblings just stared, Mikey Leo and Raph looking at the little container as a whole, while Donnie focused on the logo-like symbol at the top that glowed a bright purple.

“This was an old canister I managed to snag from TCRI a little while back, along with the Kraang data drive. It's the only good thing that came out of that mission,” Donatello explained.

“Woah, so this whole thing was filled with ooze?” Leo asked, reaching a finger out to touch it, which was slapped away by Raph.

“Well, this one was actually empty, but we managed to obtain plenty of others that were full,” Donatello said, putting the empty canister back in the chest and returning to his computer yet again, "But, after a lot of experimenting, and Mikey messing with some stuff, I was able to create a retro-mutagen,"

"Fascinating..."

After a few minutes of Donatello typing and the others looking around, Mikey walked back up to hunched turtles, “So, when are your brothers gonna be back? What are they doing anyway?” Mikey asked, growing impatient in the matte and boring lab.

“Raph and Mikey will most likely be home before Leo since he had to finish my patrolling, but they should be back soon,” Donatello answered, keeping his eyes on what he was looking at.

“You've been saying that a lot. So you guys patrol huh?” Raph asked, genuinely interested.

“Of course,” Donatello said, before stopping in his tracks, “You guys...don't patrol your city?” He questioned.

“We do sometimes,” Leo told him, leaning on Raph, who took his arm and lifted it up off of him.

“ _I_ do,” Raph said, looking annoyed, “and it's not like I don't try to get you guys to come. It's like a 50/50 chance that you’ll even show up to _missions_ , let alone patrol,” 

At this, Donatello didn't know what to think. He knew these new guys were different, they were all different species for God’s sake, but he didn't expect _this._ Leo’s immature, Raph’s responsible, they don't care about missions or patrol; Donatello just didn't understand what made them so fundamentally different.

“Wait a second,” Donatello paused, something coming to mind, “...How old are you guys?” 

Donnie was the one to speak up this time, “Michael’s 13, Raph’s 15, and Leo and I are 14,” 

“Eh, I'm older,” Leo pointed out.

“You're not,” 

“Mhm, yes I am, Dad said,” 

“The only person who could possibly know is Draxum, and I doubt he asked for our dates of birth when he bought us,”

“You're just salty Dad didn't say you were the oldest,” 

“It doesn't MATTER what Dad said because he didn't _know!_ ” Donnie shouted, earning a smirk from Leo, “Ugh, anyway, those’re our ages, Why'd you wanna know anyway?” 

Taking a few seconds to gather his composure from the fight he had just witnessed, Donatello cleared his throat, “I just had a hunch, is all. Turned out it was right. At least now I know _one_ reason you're so different from me and my family,” 

After seeing the confused faces of the others, Donatello sighed and elaborated.

“My brothers and I are all 16, 17 in a few months,” 

A beat of silence passed.

“I'm 17 here?!” Mikey shouted with a large smile, before gasping, “I'm as old as _RAPH_?" He questioned excitedly.

“Yep, we’re all the same age,” Donatello said again, looking back to his work.

“So if we’re older here, does that mean they’re more responsible and less…” Donnie moved over to Donatello, “dumb?” He mumbled

“I heard that Donnie!” Leo shouted, pointing at his intelligent brother.

“Oh cmon, I've said it before,” Donnie quickly announced, looking back to Donatello for an answer.

“Oh, uh, ya I guess you could say they're more...mature?” Donatello said, not wanting to offend any of the siblings.

“Oh oh oh! Who’s the _most_ mature? No! Who’s the _strongest_?” Mikey asked, fishing for any information on him and his brother’s counterparts.

“Well, Leo’s definitely the most mature, but strongest is a little harder to determine. It's between Raph and Leo though,” Donatello told them, causing Leo’s eyes to go wide.

“You're kidding, right?” Raph asked, skeptical.

“What do you mean?” Donatello questioned.

“ _Leo?_ The most mature?” Donnie now said, “no offense but that’s kinda hard to believe,”

“Hey!” Leo shouted, “I can be mature if I want to!” 

“You barely even make it to the missions!” Raph shouted back.

“So? Doesn't me I'm not mature,” 

“I don't know, that's a pretty convincing reason,” Donnie butt it.

“You guys suck,” Leo said, half-jokingly.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps and metal echoed into the lab.

“Oh finally,” Donatello whispered, thankful that he wouldn't be alone with four alternate turtles anymore. It's not that they were annoying; in fact, they were very interesting to watch and pretty funny; How they could be so different, yet still have the fundamental archetypes of Donatello and his own brothers. They could just be tiring.

“Donnie! Leo said some alternate versions of us fell on your head or something? Where are you?” A low and agitated voice shouted from the lair. Before any of the other turtles could question whose voice it was, Donatello jumped out of his seat.

“In the lab Raph!” he yelled out, slightly concerned to see how these reactions and meetings would play out. Before Donatello could say anything else, the doors slammed open, revealing two mutant turtles with similar bodies to Donatello, one in an orange bandana, the other in a red one.

“Oo, Where're the other us’s D?!” Michelangelo yelled before his eyes darted quickly to the four other mutant turtles near the center of the room.

“...What the hell?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed it!


	5. Enter: Raphael and Michelangelo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is gonna be a bit sad and more descriptive than the others, so be prepared to get sad (:

“What the hell?” Raphael questioned, staring at the four turtles, varying in sizes and...shapes? 

“Woah,  _ dude _ , this is even crazier than last time,” Michelangelo stated, eyes wide, staring ahead at his counterpart. He couldn't believe it. Sure, their other counterparts were different, but they weren't  _ this _ different. Michelangelo’s train of thought was suddenly cut off by a very loud gasp.

“Ooo, you’re me! Right?!” Mikey asked excitedly, running up to his alter, who took a slight step back, before hunching forward slightly to be in tune with Mikey.

“Looks like it, other me! After all, you  _ are  _ wearing the best color out of the bunch, which usually is a dead giveaway for Mikeys!” Michelangelo told the hoppy turtle in front him while winking.

“Wait, so you’re...Raph?” Leo asked the small turtle who had his arms crossed and a confused, yet annoyed look on his face, “No way! You're so small!” 

Donatello and Michelangelo both paused, looking over at Leo with worried eyes.

“...What did you just call me?” Raphael asked, now all confusion replaced with straight anger.

Not seeming to read the room, Leo kept talking, “You’re small! I mean, look at you,” He said, walking up to Raphael, “We’re like, the same height! Wow, I didn't even imagine I’d ever be as tall as Raph!” 

Raphael’s eyes were wide. What the hell was happening? Leo’s always been just a bit taller than Raph. What was this guy talking about? Something suddenly popped into Raphael’s mind.

“How tall am I in  _ your  _ universe?” Raphael asked quickly, irritation, and surprise behind his words.

“Uh,” A voice came from behind, causing Raphael to look over. He almost had a heart attack.

“Nice to meet you. Im...well, I'm Raph in our world,” Raph told his counter awkwardly with an outstretched hand, earning simply wide eyes in return.

“Heh, that tall,” Leo finally responded to Raphael’s question, who just ignored him as he stared at the hulking turtle before him.

“Oh my God,” Michelangelo said, turning away from Mikey and looking at Raph, who was starting to get slightly flustered from the attention.

“Not to break up this _beautiful_ meeting, but I think it’d be best if we actually started trying to figure out what exactly happened to take us to this world,” Donnie slyly remarked, with a hint of annoyance present in his words.

“Well, I guess good ol’ sarcastic Don stayed the same, huh Raph?” Michelangelo interjected for a quick second, nudging his brother, who gave off a soft chuckle in reply.

“Alright, you guys can have all the fun you want in the lair. Show these guys around or something, just get out of the lab while me and...uh, other me(?) work,” Donatello told his brothers sternly, shifting his eyes from them to Donnie, “My world’s tech is a bit different from yours, I'm guessing, so I guess we’ll start with some quick explanations,” he told Donnie.

“I think that’d be a good first step,” Donnie affirmed, looking over to his brothers waving his hand in a ‘shooing’ motion to tell them to leave.

“Alright then, I guess,” Raph announced, earning eyes on him yet again, “Let’s leave the Donnies be,” he told his brothers and their counterparts, who only stared at him.

“Eh, Don’s lab gets boring quick anyway,” Michelangelo pointed out, ignoring an offended ‘Hey!’ from where his brother was sitting, “What do you guys wanna check out first?” he asked his and his brother’s counterparts while walking out of the lab.

Before Leo or Mikey could think of anything, Raph quickly interjected, “How about your training room?” he quickly asked, excited, earning a groan from both Mikeys and an eye roll from Leo, something which shocked Raphael, who told himself to remember that for later...questions.

“Alright, follow me big Raph,” Michelangelo advised as lead the three turtles, plus Raphael, into a large room with Japanese decor out all around and a large bonsai-like tree at the other side of said room.

“Welcome to the dojo,” Michelangelo declared with outstretched hands, not exactly expecting a large reaction from something so mediocre.

“Woah, look at that tree!” Mikey exclaimed, running over to the plant and looking up at its leaves, “It's so pretty! How’d you get it to grow in the sewers?” He asked, excited, and curious.

“Don't ask us, it's been here for as long as we’ve been alive. I think it was Splinter who planted it,” Raphael replied, arms crossed as they usually were.

“Do you think I could ask him about it?” Mikey questioned, over the moon at the idea of possibly having a tree in the lair. 

Michelangelo and Raphael’s eyes widened, the younger of the two’s smile disappearing as quickly as it appeared.

“Oh ya, speaking of Splinter, what's he like here? I didn't even realize we didn't run into him on the couch or anything,” Leo asked, wondering what their dad was like in this world.

Michelangelo put his head down.

“Donnie didn't tell you?” Raphael questioned, his voice softer and less annoyed this time, replaced with a slight hint of sadness.

“Tell us what?” Raph asked, feeling a bit uneasy due to the change in mood of the two other turtles.

Raphael took a breath, but before he could say anything, Michelangelo interjected.

  
  


“Our Splinter died a few months ago,” 

  
  


The tone of the room instantly went from upbeat and light to dark and depressing, as the three alternate turtle’s eyes widened and blood curdled at the newfound knowledge that, in the world they currently resided in, their father had died.

Mikey slowly put his hand to his mouth, trying to keep any sounds from coming out. He didn't feel sad, he didn't feel like crying or anything like that; he felt horrified. Scared by even the idea of losing Splinter so early in him and his brother’s lives. It had never occurred to him, call it youthful bliss or full-blown ignorance, but here...here, it was not only something they had to worry about but something that actually ended up happening. 

All Leo could think of was what his world would be like without Splinter. No one to come home to watching Japanese television while eating cake, no one to train them, no one to discipline them, no one to tell them right from wrong, no one to get them out of tough situations; No one to truly rely on. It made Leo feel sick. He couldn’t bear to even imagine it, let alone live it.

Raph’s thoughts were bombarded with questions. What would happen after he passes? Who would take up the mantle? Who would train them? Would Draxum raise them for the rest of their childhoods? Does this world even  _ have  _ a Draxum? From the looks of things, they don't, but then again, him being dead too wouldn't be a far off guess considering…

All three turtles were snapped back into reality by a much calmer and downtrodden voice.

“Are you guys alright?” Michelangelo asked, staring at the wide-eyed brothers, “We didn’t mean to worry you or anything. I’m guessing Splinter is still alive in your world?”

A second of stillness passed before Raph spoke up after clearing his throat, “Uh, ya...ya, dad’s still alive in our world,” he told the smaller turtle before him, who mustered up the courage to smile.

“That’s nice,” Michelangelo said, genuinely happy for the others. Any world with his father was a world he liked to imagine. Sometimes, It was all a dream. A bad dream in which Shredder had killed his father and broken not only him and his brother’s spirits but their lives too. But he would wake up, and everyone would be there to comfort him, from the horrible nightmare that their lives had been altered beyond repair. Sometimes, it was all just a bad dream...but those times always ended with him waking up to the cruel reality that life so effortlessly was. One where there was no mercy. Life gave, and life took away. A reality where the most Michelangelo could do was repeat one of the many mantras Splinter had carved into him and his brother’s brains ever since they were young, to prepare them for the worst. They were words which he had repeated when Splinter had supposedly been killed by the Shredder, with Leonardo left to fend for himself in a coma, while he and the rest of his family were all trapped on a farm as their own city was overrun with parasites; 

‘We must play with the hand the universe has dealt us’

But so often, his own brother’s words would penetrate his thoughts; 

‘the universe dealt us a terrible hand’

It was a statement of anger. Anger that, with everything they had dealt with in their lives, they still couldn’t catch a break. But, of course, that came with their birth, and with their mutation. So, oftentimes, Michelangelo was left to wonder:

_ “What would my life be like if I were never mutated?” _

The thought made him want to throw up, but the fact that he even took the time to compare the two lives is what really made Michelangelo disgusted. He had sentience. Of course, his life as it was was better than any other life he could have had.

...Right? It was a question Mikey hated thinking about, but couldn't help. And he hated himself for it.

“You ok Mike?” Raphael asked, putting his hand on his brother’s shoulder after noticing the telltale sign of teary eyes, causing Michelangelo to snap out of his daze and wipe away any stray tears.

“Ya, I-I'm good, sorry about that,” Michelangelo said while laughing, as to distract himself. 

“It's fine, trust me, we were just surprised, is all,” Raph told him, trying to justify their behavior, “We’re the ones who asked, it should be us apologizing,” 

“No no, it's fine, really,” the freckled turtle responded, trying to find something to lighten the mood, “How do you guys feel about food? I bet transporting to a different universe must’ve at least made you bit peckish,” Michelangelo asked the others.

“We were actually supposed to be getting pizza when we got thrown into this world, I'm surprised Raph’s stomach hasn't totally imploded yet! Got any leftovers?” Leo asked excitedly, attempting to brighten the mood as much as he could.

“Probably. Off to the kitchen, follow me!” Michelangelo exclaimed, still a little deflated from the conversation that just occurred, but happy to help these alternate versions of him and his brothers.

“Thank you,” Raphael whispered to Leo, recognizing his attempt to lighten things up, earning a quick nod and a slight smile from the red-eared slider. Slowly, the six turtles walked out of the dojo, with Raphael glancing one last time at the doors to his father's room, the doors that had stayed closed ever since he was gone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey ya'll, I got super philosophical in the middle of this chapter and was like "imma write something sad," so that's why that entire thing with Splinter was there. I made myself sad when writing that lmao. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! Leonardo is gonna come back next chapter (At least that's what I'm planning on happening) and after that, I have a really sad situation already written out that involves him and the Donnies, so be prepared to cry!


	6. Something Suspicious

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Donatellos are continuing their research as something completely unexpected happens. The last turtle of the group finally makes an entrance.

“Soo, what's your universe like?" Donatello asked out of the blue, attempting to make some form of communication so the awkward silence wouldn’t persist. Donatello had handed him one of his computers to find any useful information on what had happened to them. The good thing was they were making some progress. The bad thing-  _ God  _ it was awkward

“That's a very vague question. What specifically do you wanna know about?” Donnie questioned, not looking away from a code he was in the middle of typing.

“Um,” Donatello took a second to think, trying to ask something that he guessed would be different, when someone came to mind.

“How is your April?” He asked, expecting her to be fairly different. The last time he met or rather saw, alternate April, he couldn't believe his eyes. Not only was she a news anchor who constantly wore a yellow jumpsuit and was kidnapped daily, but she was an adult, something very different from his April. If she was that different in the other turtle's universe, he couldn't even fathom what she’d be like in their universe.

“Oh, April? I mean, she's a badass with skills who is like our fifth sibling. That's really the best I can describe her without her actually being here,” Donnie answered.

“How old is she?”

“ _ Pardon? _ ”

“Oh that sounded creepy, I just meant,” Donatello tried to word his explanation carefully as he stared at his counter with hands up, “In the other universe we went to, April was an adult who worked in the news business, while she’s a teenager in our world. I was just wondering which of the two she would be in your world, is all,”

“Ah,” Donnie hummed, understanding the question know, “Well, she’s sixteen in our world, so I guess she’s the same as your April,”   
  


“Interesting,” Donatello murmured, turning to look back at what he was currently doing.

“If we’re asking questions about other universes, may I ask something about yours?” Donnie requested, trying to hide his interest in the current world he resided in, and multiverse theory itself.

“Go ahead,” Donatello mumbled, not thinking much of the question.

“What’s your Leo like?” Donnie asked, earning a questioning face from Donatello.

“What do you mean? He’ll be back any second now, I'm sure you can see for yourself,” Donatello told his counter, confused by the question, waiting for a further explanation.

“I know, I just want to know what I'm getting myself into. You and your brothers were already different enough, but we didn't know we would see any of you in the first place for more than a couple minutes, so your…’entrances’ were like ripping a bandaid; straight to the point. Your Leo, however, gets the extra excitement of being hyped up and suspenseful. I'm just hoping nothing crazy is going to happen. Is he anything like my Leo?” Donnie finally finished, waiting for an answer eagerly, although he tried to mask his keenness.

“Like your Leo, huh?” Donatello said aloud, trying to think of how his brother's counter acted. Taking a few seconds to answer, Donatello finally managed to get something out, “He....well, I…,” He couldn't find the right words, no matter how hard he tried, so Donatell just decided to go with something vague and straightforward for the time being,

“No,” 

This caused Donnie to be slightly shocked. 

“No? Like, not at all?” He asked, confused.

“Well, they probably have some similarities, but I haven't been around your Leo much. I don't really know his mannerisms and personality, so I'm not really in a place to talk, but from what I’ve seen, they are probably the most different, with the Raphs coming in at a close second,” Donatello explained, trying to highlight the fact the answer wasn't definite.

“You said he was mature before. So that  _ wasn't _ a joke?” Donnie questioned with a raised eyebrow.

“It was the farthest thing from. Actually, Leo’s-” Before Donatello could finish his sentence, he was suddenly and abruptly cut off by large sparks and loud pops coming from his computer, embers starting to spit from the crevices of the computer.

“What in the...?” Donatello started, standing up quickly and backing away from the device slowly, not knowing what might happen, and not wanting to be hit by the brunt of whatever it was. He briskly thanked his innate ability to sense when something wasn't right, as he watched as the entire computer burst into flames.

“The hell?! What happened?!” Donnie yelled, getting up from his seat to slowly back away from the technological inferno on the table next to him.

“I have no idea! That's  _ never _ happened before! There's usually a spark or at worst an explosion, but nothing usually catches on fire, at least not  _ this _ bad!” Donatello shouted back, looking confused and extremely worried.

“Do you have a fire extinguisher?!” 

“Only a foam one. It’d make it worse!” 

“You work with dangerous technology every single day and you only have a  _ foam extinguisher?! _ ”

“I told you, this has never happened before! My technology doesn't just randomly burst into flames! The only things that catch fire and blow up are the mixtures and compounds I make, yknow, because I work with the most dangerous flammable liquid on the _planet_?! And besides, do you know how hard to find fire extinguishers are when you can't just walk into a store and  _ BUY _ one?!” Donatello blurted, freaking out and trying to calm himself down.

“Alright, you don't have to tell me your entire life story!”

“ _ It's how I deal with STRESS,” _

“Well maybe if we stopped arguing we could actually find a way to put the thing-!” Donnie was cut off by a sizzling and sputtering of flames, causing him to glance over at someone pouring a powder-like substance over the large fire while covering his mouth with his hand.

Someone with two ninjato in twin scabbards strapped across his back, wearing a blue bandana.

Donnie’s eyes widened slightly, “-out,”

  
  


“Leo?” Donatello questioned while staring at his brother.

“Tonights already stressful enough Donnie. Can we cut back on the electrical fires for a little?” Leonardo asked Donatello as he walked up to him.

“I have  _ no  _ idea how that happened. It's _never_ happened before ,” Donatello tried to reason with his brother, who just looked at him.

“Well figure it out and make sure it doesn't happen  _ again _ ,” Leonardo told him as he shoved a box a baking soda against his chest, “And keep this with you if it does,”

Donatello sighed as he looked down at the powdery substance, “Alright. Thanks, though. We were kind of freaking out,” He told his brother, who cocked his head slightly.

“We?” Leonardo asked, shortly before turning towards a loud cough from someone a few feet away from him.

“Uh,” Donnie mumbled, not knowing what to say after getting the alternate turtle’s attention, instead saying a small and awkward “Hi,”

“...Hello,” Leonardo said, putting his hand up to signal his greeting, “Let me guess, you’re Donnie?” He asked the purple plaid turtle.

“Ya, and you’re...Leo,” Donnie replied with a chuckle, almost like he didn't believe what he was saying.

“I am. Did the blue give it away?”

“No, more the fact that I met all your other brothers,” Donnie told him, earning a small smile from the blue turtle.

“Ya, that sounds about right. Well, I hope they didn't annoy you both too much. Mikey didn't break anything did he?” Leonardo asked, looking back to Donatello with a raised eyebrow.

“No, everything was surprisingly calm, thank God. I think they’re exploring the lair right now, but I couldn't tell you where they were specifically,” Donatello informed Leonardo.

“That's fine, I guess I'll just go look,” He said while heading to the door, before turning around to add something else, “Also, I want everyone going to sleep early tonight, ok D? Even you two,”

“What? Why?” Donatello questioned, a bit blown back.

“Because if whatever happened tonight is going to be a long term thing, I want us all to get a good night's rest before we actually start doing anything major,” Leonardo explained, “Also, four mutant turtles fell on your head. I think you would've known by now if you had a concussion, but I still want you to take it easy for a day or two, alright?” He all but pleaded with Donatello, whose look of surprise slowly turned to that of annoyed acceptance.

“...Fine,” 

Leonardo smiled, “Thanks D. You too, other Donnie!” Leonardo shouted while turning his head to face his brother’s counterpart, “If you’re anything like my brother, then your sleep schedule is just as screwed up as his. Try and get to bed in a few hours alright you guys?” he stated more than asked, not expecting an answer as he opened the doors and started heading for wherever the others were.

“Well, you said you wanted to know what Leo was like. I'm pretty sure that just summed it up,” Donatello told Donnie, who nodded stiffly.

“I..guess it did. Wow, you were not exaggerating. How’d he know to use baking soda?” Donnie asked, still reeling from the adrenaline caused by the fire and the unexpected meeting.

“Leo’s not as smart as us, but he knows some basic knowledge, including which things put out which fire. I think he started reading up on that stuff a couple of years back when Mikey kept lighting the food on fire in the kitchen,” Donatello said, as he went over to examine the now burnt to a crisp and covered in baking soda laptop, “Now, how the hell did  _ this _ happen?” he questioned, pushing the blackened device around with a ruler, trying to find the origin of the fire.

Snapping out of his daze, Donnie started moving towards it too, “I hope you had everything backed up on a hard drive,” He commented, seeing the mess, “What were you doing on it anyway,”

“Ugh,” Donatello said as his ruler touched some melted plastic that was burned off, “I barely even remember. I was trying to hack into a confidential website about unexplainable events that was fairly new. I've scoured the internet and this was the first time it popped up for me during my hacking... Pretty sure it was run by the FBI or something,” Donatello reasoned, touching the computer to see if it was still hot.

“Or maybe it was run by something else,” Donnie inquired, his hand on his chin.

Donatello looked over at him, confused, “Oh wait a second,” He suddenly said while straightening his body, “You don't think...They couldn't have done that remotely. _I_ don't even know technology like that. It was a laptop, it wasn't connected to anything,” Donatello continued, trying his hardest to find a reason for the sudden inferno.

“It definitely wasn't technologically possible,” Donnie started.

“Exactly,” 

“But what about mystically?” Donnie finished his train of thought, earning wide eyes from Donatello.

“Mystically?” Donatello repeated, before remembering something, “You guys were talking about mystic stuff when you first came here, weren't you?” 

“Ya, our world has mystic energy and mystic beings. It's what our weapons are based around. If what I'm thinking happened isn't possible in your world, then…”

Donatello finished his counter's thought, “It was probably caused by something or some _ one _ from your world?” He questioned, unbelieving.

“Do you have a better explanation?” Donnie asked, looking at him.

Donatello was silent for a few seconds, before he sighed in a defeated tone, “No, I guess I don't,”

Donnie put his hand to his forehead, “Well, at least we have some more information about what we’re dealing with,”

“Ya, at _least_ ,” 

  
  
  
  


**Meanwhile...**

“I’ve got the IP address, boss man,”

“Good, and don't call me that,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I'm trying to set up some world building and an actual functioning plot, but I'm not the best at that when it comes to already established franchises, so I'm sorry if it sounds weird (when it eventually unfolds). Also, Donnie will low-key like April in this, cause its a huge part of the show, but it's not gonna be noticeable AT ALL so don't worry. I'll' prob make some nods to it, but I'm not gonna be writing any cringe. You're welcome lmao.


	7. Kitchen time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The other turtles finally meet Leonardo and find out something very interesting afterward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya, oof, it's been a while. I'm not really one for doing consistent uploads, and for that, I'm sorry lol. I did want to say one thing tho about where the rottmnt timeline is in this fic. So I said in the first chapter it took place before the season 2 finale, but that's mainly because I wanted Raph to be the leader in this story. I'm changing it to taking place after the season 2 finale, but basically, I'm pretending what Splinter said in the season finale about Leo being the leader was a joke (if that makes sense). 
> 
> This chapter is all super dialogue-heavy, so be prepared lol  
> Anyway, enjoy!

“So, we got some leftover pizza, mac and cheese, and fruit, if you wanna be healthy. We have a lot of other ingredients but unless you wanna take a half hour to make anything, they’re pretty useless,” Michelangelo told the other turtles as he rummaged through the fridge, looking for dinner.

“Pizza’s fine,” Raph answered, earning nods from Leo and Mikey. 

“I gotta say, your guys’ lair is pretty neat. Not as good as ours but,” Leo said while waving a hand, “Still pretty nice,” 

“Thanks,” Raphael scoffed sarcastically, pulling out a chair to sit down.

“You guys like your pizza hot or cold. I'm usually a cold person myself, but I could set the oven on to broil. It'll only take a few minutes,” Michelangelo offered, taking the pizza box out and opening it so that the others could see.

“I'm fine with cold,” Raph said, waving off the offer.

“Ya, I like cold pizza,” Mikey also chimed in, along with a ‘same,’ from Leo.

“Alrighty then,” Michelangelo announced as he pulled out paper plates and divided them among the turtles, “Dig in! Want any Raph?” 

“I'm good,” Raphael muttered, eyes glued to his brother's counterparts. 

After a few minutes of eating, Raph chuckled awkwardly.

“Is...there a reason you guys are staring at us like that?” He asked, not trying to sound rude, but at the same time feeling slightly uncomfortable.

Michelangelo’s eyes quickly widened, “Sorry dude! I didn't realize I was staring. It's just, we’ve met other versions of us before, but they weren't as different as  _ you _ ,”

“What were they like?” Leo asked, intrigued.

“Yknow, the usual. All the same species and height, same personalities. I think the main differences were their fighting styles and the fact their Leo said turtle power a lot, but that's about it,” Michelangelo explained to Leo, who chuckled.

“Turtle power? Maybe I should start using that,” 

“Please don't,” Raph and Mikey pleaded as they looked over to their brother, who replied with a shrug and a ‘so-be-it’ look.

A few more seconds of chewing and slight banter between the brothers went by before Raphael decided it was time he asked what was on his chest.

“Hey, other Leo,” Raphael said aloud, earning a look from said turtle, “What's your deal?”

Leo stared at him.

“Excuse me?” He asked, slightly amused with a hint of confusion in his voice. Mikey and Raph looked at each other, before turning their eyes back to their brother.

“You're definitely not anything like our Leo. I just  _ met  _ you and I can already tell,”

“Really? What's your...me like, then?” Leo asked with a smirk, but genuinely interested as well.

“Well, -”

“Speak of the devil,” Michelangelo chuckled as his head faced the doorway in which the new turtle was now standing in.

“What, were you guys talking about me? Anything I should be worried about?” Leonardo asked his younger brother with a sly smile before stopping in his tracks and examining the other turtles in front of him, “Woah, and I thought the other Donnie looked different,” 

“Hey, looks like the full gangs’ finally met each other!” Michelangelo stated with a large smile plastered on, “We were just talking about how this Leo is different from you, though. Nothing to worry about,” he told Leonardo, who gave him a sideways glance, not wanting to halt examining the counterparts.

“Huh,” Leonardo muttered, eyes now falling on Leo, who looked back, eyes glancing around uncomfortably and rapidly, not wanting to meet his other’s eyes.

“Hi, other Leo!” Mikey shouted as he waved his left hand, pizza in his right.

“Uh, hi...other Mikey,” Leonardo responded, not wanting to leave the young turtles hanging, “and other Raph and...me,” he added, not knowing what to say next.

“Hi, uh, nice to meet you,” Raph said as he stood up and put his hand out, which Leonardo quickly shook, to his surprise.

“And me, you,” Leonardo remarked, before turning back to Michelangelo, “So, what’re you guys doing?”

“These guys didn't have dinner,” Raphael butt in, arms crossed angrily, as his question still wasn't answered.

“Oh, ok. Uh…” Leonardo trailed off, taking out his T-phone and looking at the time, seeing,

**1:34 AM**

“Well it's getting pretty late, and from what I saw in Donnie’s lab, I have a feeling you guys aren't going anywhere anytime soon. Anybody have any ideas for sleeping arrangements?” He asked his brothers.

“How ‘bout each turtle sleeps with their counterpart!” Michelangelo exclaimed excitedly, putting his fist into his palm in an ‘i got it!’ gesture.

“Hm…” Leonardo hummed as he thought about it, “That should work if you guys don't mind being split up at least,” he asked the others, who gave quick glances to each other.

“That's fine with us,” Raph finally said after looking at his brother’s expressions, making sure no one was opposed to the idea, “Thank you. For letting us stay, I mean,”

“Of course,” Leonardo replied, folding his arms, “We wouldn’t just leave you on the street. We wouldn’t do that to anyone who needs help,” He told the brothers, earning a soft smile and nod from Raph.

“Well, I guess I’ll go tell the Donnies real quick, but I want everyone going to bed soon. Ten minutes tops,” Leonardo told everyone, mostly aimed at his own brothers, as he eyed Michelangelo.

“Why’re you looking at me?” Michelangelo said, trying to fake sounding hurt, earning a raised ‘eyebrow’ expression from his older brother, “alright, alright,” he chuckled, moving his hands up and down.

Leonardo smiled, looking to Leo next, “My room is the first door on the right. Mikey can show you, and I’ll set up a place on the ground to make it comfortable. I’ll probably be in bed when you come in,” Leonardo told him, waiting for a nod before leaving the kitchen.

“Never thought I'd hear Leo telling us to go to bed,” Mikey remarked aloud, earning glances from everyone, and slightly wide eyes from Raphael.

“Really?” Michelangelo asked, dumbfounded, earning looks from the others.

“Ya, Leo’s not one for being responsible,” Mikey announced, “No offense,” he added, seeing the annoyed look Leo had.

Leo sighed, “None taken little bro. At least  _ you _ care about my feelings,” Leo told him, remembering what Raph and Donnie said, before rubbing his head.

“Woah woah woah, backtrack,” Raphael said, as he stood up. He stayed silent for a couple of seconds, eyeing the turtle brothers.

“You guys are a team, you go on missions and stuff, right?” He asked.

“Course we do,” Raph responded, confused.

“And Leo’s not responsible?”

“Not generally, no,” Raph again replied, earning an irritated ‘hey!’ From his brother.

Raphael thought for another couple of seconds before his eyes widened.

“Who’s the leader?” He asked, almost not believing his assumptions could be correct.

“Whaddya mean? It’s obviously Raph,” Mikey said, not thinking much of it until he saw the dumbfounded looks from not only Raphael but from Michelangelo too.

“Raph?” Michelangelo questioned again, wondering if he heard wrong.

“Uh, ya?” Leo was the one to answer this time.

“...Raph?!” Michelangelo again questioned, though this time being rhetorical as he quickly stood up and stared at the hulking turtle before him, who took a step back.

“Um, is...there a problem?” Raph asked innocently, putting his hands up in defense.

“That explains  _ so _ much!” Michelangelo declared, slapping his hand to his forehead.

Before Raph could ask anything else, he was interrupted by his counterpart.

“How’d  _ you _ become the leader?” Raphael all but yelled as he walked up to the bigger, yet somehow less intimidating turtle. 

“Um...well mainly because I’m the oldest, but-“

“You’re the oldest?!” Both Michelangelo and Raphael exclaimed, now more surprised than before.

“ _ What’s going onnnn,”  _ Leo whispered to Mikey, who seemed just as bewildered as he gave his brother a shrug.

“Ya, I’m the oldest. Am I...not the oldest in this world?”

“Dude, you’re not the oldest  _ or _ the leader,” Michelangelo explained, seeming to try and clear up the confusion.

“ _ What _ ,”

“What?”

“What?!”

It was now time for the other turtles to yell, as they found out the reason Michelangelo and Raphael had been so shocked.

“So, who’s the leader?” Leo asked quickly, walking closer to Michelangelo, before he stopped in front of a pointed out finger, aimed directly at him.

“ _ You  _ are!” Michelangelo announced, stunning the room into a shocked silence.

“I…I’m,” Leo started, not fully comprehending what he had just heard, “the leader?” He questioned, eyes turning to Raphael to confirm what he had just heard, who gave him a nod.

“So...does that make Leo the oldest?” Mikey asked, still stunned.

“Well, technically we’re all the same age, but I  _ think _ he’s the oldest by a few days, from the tests Donnie has done. But we don’t focus on age that much. He’s just always acted like our older brother,” Michelangelo explained to them, as the other boys remembered what Donatello had said about their ages.

“So  _ that’s _ why this Leo's so mature?” Raph asked his counterpart.

“Obviously,” he snidely replied, as Raph tried to ignore the evident irritation in his voice.

“Jeez, this is all too much, I think I gotta lie down,” Leo said as he put his hands to his eyes.

“It's probably best if we continue this tomorrow,” Raph told everyone.

“Ya, you’re probably right. Here, we can show you to our rooms!” Michelangelo told them, before leading everyone out of the kitchen and to the bedroom hallway.

As everyone settled in their own rooms, each counterpart going together, Leo walked in to see a small mattress with pillows and blankets on the ground, and Leonardo sleeping on his side.

“... _ He’s the leader here _ ,” is all he could think as he situated himself and drifted to sleep, thinking of the other possible differences this would have.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you tell Leo's my favorite?


	8. Tea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leonardo is awoken by a nightmare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so this is a shorter than usual one, and it's mostly based around the 2012 turtles. I wrote the ending to this chapter a while ago and I just really wanted to use it. I also like how I ended it, so here you go! Hope you enjoy!

It was 3:30 in the morning when Leonardo was jerked awake. Putting his hand over his heart, he tried to slow his breathing as his eyes darted around the room, resting on another turtle sleeping on a blow-up mattress on the ground. Confused for a few seconds, Leonardo’s mind quickly adjusted as he managed to remember the happenings of the prior night, or, morning.

“ _ They haven't been that bad in a while _ ,” Leonardo thought after taking a few deep breaths to steady his heart and thoughts. He was used to having nightmares. Even before he became leader they were fairly prominent, but the only times they had ever gotten out of hand were after the first attempted Kraang invasion, at the farmhouse, and the few days after Splinter had passed. They had been so bad, he remembered, that he couldn’t go a few hours without being awoken by the pictures and scenarios that had so often haunted his dreams.

“Please, not again,” He whispered, absentmindedly, knowing that he wouldn't be able to fall back asleep, much to Leonardo’s dismay. He hopped out of bed quietly, more out of habit than anything, but also because he remembered the other version of him, still in dreamland. As Leonardo made it to the bathroom, he turned the faucet onto its coldest setting, let the water flow into his cupped hands, and splashed it into his face. Trying not to cringe at the frigidness, he quickly moved over to the towels and dried himself off, taking a few seconds to breathe, and prepare himself for the day.

“You can do this, Leo,” He told himself. He knew it was childish, but he couldn't ignore the fact that talking to himself worked every now and then, especially when he needed to hear something only  _ he  _ knew. 

Taking one last breath, Leonardo slowly made his way to the kitchen and began to make green tea. He took the kettle, filled it with water, and set it on the hot stove as he began to look for the tea leaves. He then made his way to the table and sat down, waiting for the water to begin boiling.

Leonardo realized his eyes had been closed for a few minutes only when he heard the loud whistling coming from the stove, which he quickly moved to silence. He dumped the tea leaves in, poured it into the ceramic pot, and, again, waited; this time for the water to cool down.

After a few more minutes passed, Leonardo transferred the green tea mixture back into the pot to steep fully for one last time, getting the strainer out for when it was time to pour. He knew most people just kept the leaves in, but he and his brothers were never real fans of accidentally gulping down the bitter plants when they were too tired to think.

Once the time was up, Leo took out the tea cups and poured the liquid into one of them through the wire strainer, catching more than a few leaves. Before he could take his first sip, though, Leonardo’s eyes darted to the doorway, where he heard footsteps approaching. He was not at all surprised to see a tired Donatello at the door, as much as he hated it.

Donatello was rubbing his eyes as he entered the room, oblivious to his surroundings until he finally realized his brother’s presence after a large yawn.

“Leo?” Donatello questioned, half surprised, half nervous.

“Donnie,” Leonardo stated in an accusing manner.

“W...What are you doing up so early?” 

“I could ask you the same thing,” Leonardo remarked, too tired to put up a truly annoyed face, instead settling for a melodramatic disappointed leer, “Didn’t I tell you guys to go to bed early tonight?”

“We did!” Donatello tried to defend himself, shrinking at Leonardo’s glare, “We just...woke up...really early,” He finished, looking away.

Leonardo sighed, “Donnie-” 

“Hey, you didn't specify an amount of sleep we needed to get,” Donatello replied in a sort of accusing way.

“You’re right, I didn't, because I thought the smartest guys in New York would be able to  _ at least  _ infer that ‘go to bed early’ _also_ coincided with ‘get at least 8 hours of sleep’,” Leonardo angrily commented, turning back to his tea, “but maybe I expected too much,” 

Donatello frowned as he let his head droop down.

“...sorry,” He apologized, as sincerely as he could manage.

Leonardo sighed as he shut his eyes, “It's fine, D, I’m sorry for sounding rude, I'm just tired,” He told his taller brother, who looked up, now very clearly worried.

“Speaking of, I thought you said the nightmares were getting better,” Donatello questioned quietly, moving closer to Leonardo. Leo always forgot how intuitive he was.

“They are,” Leonardo corrected himself, “They  _ were _ , at least. This is the first time in a while they've woken me up,” He told Donatello, whose worried features didn't calm.

Seeing his brother’s concern, Leonardo quickly tried to rationalize the situation.

“It's fine, Donnie, really. Probably just a fluke or whatever, it's bound to happen every now and again, no matter what. Really, there's no need to worry,” He told Donatello, who only mellowed slightly, “I've dealt with this before, Donatello. I can handle it. You don't have to be concerned, promise,”

Only after a few very quiet moments did Donatello respond with an almost silent, “Alright,”

“Were you coming in to get some coffee?” Leonardo tried to quickly change the subject, as he pointed to the half-full coffee pot.

“Uh, ya. For me and the...other...me,” Donatello replied, “We gotta come up with nicknames or something,” he whispered under his breath, earning a chuckle from his older brother. 

“Listen, D, I can forget the sleep you missed tonight, on one condition,” Leonardo remarked, earning a curious glance from Donatello.

“Which is?” 

“You,” Leonardo pointed a lazy finger to his brother, “have to have some of the green tea I made instead of coffee,”

Donatello’s eyes were wide for a second before he sighed and looked down, “But-”

“No ‘buts’,” He responded with a grin to the dejected sigh.

Donatello was about to say something else, to try and get Leo to lighten up, before closing his mouth and looking at his brother, seeing the bags under his eyes, and the oh-so forced smile upon his face.

“...Ok,” is all Donatello said, resulting in Leo taking out another cup and pouring the tea through the strainer.

“You can get coffee for the other Donnie, I'm not gonna force him to do anything cause, technically, he's not really my brother,” Leonardo explained after Donatello waited on him to pour a second cup of tea for Donnie.

“Oh, thanks. He seems more coffee-obsessed than me,” Donatello joked as he poured a mug of the hot drink.

“I didn't even know that was possible,” Leonardo remarked, earning a quiet chuckle from both of them.

As Donatello was about to leave the kitchen, he let his eyes wander one last time to his brother, who was sitting with his forehead in one hand, and his cup of tea in the other. He couldn't help the concern that continued to bubble inside him.

  
  


\----------Scene change----------

Donatello opened the door to the lab with his foot as he tried his best not to spill any tea or coffee. 

“That took a while,” Donnie said as his eyes turned to his other, focusing on the tea cup.

“What's that?” He asked as he pointed to said cup, once Donatello set his coffee down.

“Green tea,” Donatello replied, noticing the confused look on Donnie’s face, “Leo wanted me to have some instead of coffee tonight cause it's healthier,”

“And you actually listened?” Donnie questioned with a quick chuckle, as he turned back to his computer.

Donatello took a sip of his tea, before putting it down, and turning towards Donnie.

“Listen...My Leo is really different from yours. I noticed that as soon as you two started talking in that alley. Leo’s mature. He’s the leader, and he always has been,” Donatello began to talk, causing Donnie to put his hands up.

“Ya, ya I know-”

“No, you don't,” Donatello told him without any malice, simply wanting his counterpart to understand their situation, “...He’s always been the leader, even before Splinter gave him the title...but after Splinter died,” Donatello paused to collect his thoughts, ignoring the fact that he hadn’t told his other self about Splinter’s death, and turning to look at his desk instead of Donnie, who just stared, wide-eyed and surprised.

“After Father died, Leo took up the mantle of Sensei, but...he also took up the role of a...I guess parental figure is the best description,” Donatello said solemnly, eyes glossed over, facing the floor now, as he fiddled his fingers slowly, “he put his childhood- **his life** on hold so that we wouldn't have to suffer the way he did. Ever since Splinter passed, instead of a brother to us, or a friend to Casey and April, he's been more of a... _ Father _ and I can’t imagine how hard that must be,” He explained, hands on his legs and back straight, “He thinks he hides it well, but I can tell. I can tell that these past few weeks must have been absolute hell for him,” Donatello took a deep breath, blinking away tears and gathering himself.

“So if he wants me to drink green tea today, then I’ll drink green tea today,” Donatello expressed, finally lifting his head, and looking straight ahead.

“And if he wants me to drink green tea tomorrow,” Donatello turned to Donnie, whose wide eyes hadn’t moved away from the turtle since he began speaking, and whose frown was starting to become more prominent.

“Then I’ll drink green tea tomorrow,”

  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews are always appreciated, thanks for reading!


	9. Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikey and Raphael run into each other

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> K so this chapter is a bit short, but it's mainly because I wanted to get some exposition out of the way, and play around with this grouping cause it seemed interesting(rottmnt Mikey and 2012 Raph)!
> 
> Hope you enjoy!
> 
> (I also wrote this kinda quick, so sorry if there are some grammatical or spelling errors :P)

Mikey awoke with a yawn on top of the soft sleeping bag that he had fallen asleep in. Sitting up and stretching his arms out, he looked around to see his alternate self sleeping soundly, sprawled out like a gymnast. Stifling a laugh, Mikey stood up and walked out the door. 

Getting to the kitchen, he looked at the microwave clock, seeing 9:20 in blinking green. 

“Hm,” Mikey hummed, wondering what he should do. He didn’t know if anyone else was awake, and even if they were, he had no idea where to look for them. He had already forgotten where Donatello’s lab was, so that was out of the question, too.

“You’re awake?” A voice asked, causing Mikey to jump and snap his head towards it.

“Other Raph!” Mikey exclaimed, pointing at Raphael, who looked on with a confused expression, “Oh, sorry,” Mikey murmured, putting his hand down.

“I would've thought you'd guys sleep ‘till noon, considering how late everyone went to bed,” Raphael stated as he walked to the fridge, getting out two water bottles, and sliding one to the other turtle.

“Ya, I usually sleep super late, but I guess this whole situation’s got my brain all jumbled up,” Mikey replied nonchalantly, taking the bottle and gulping some water.

“Can't say I blame ya,” Raphael sighed, eyes glued to Mikey and his boisterous personality.

After a couple of moments, Mikey put his water bottle down and gently exhaled “Jeez, you guys have a real problem with staring,” he said, pointing an accusatory finger at Raphael.

Raphael’s eyes widened, before he squinted in annoyance, “ya, sorry about that, it's not every day other versions of me and my brothers fall out of the sky and stay in our home,” He told Mikey sarcastically.

“Eh, fair enough,” Mikey shrugged with closed eyes, “anyway, what’re  _ you  _ doing up so early?” He asked, looking back at his alternate brother.

“It's not even that early. I usually wake up a lot earlier than this, but then again, I usually don't go to bed as late as we all did last night. I don't have insomnia like Leo or Donnie,” Raphael explained, causing Mikey to look over in curiosity.

“They have insomnia?”

“I mean, obviously nothing diagnosed, but I'm almost positive Donnie has it. He could probably run some tests on himself to see if he had time,” Raphael told the curious turtle who was leaning closer and closer in interest.

“What about Leo?” Mikey questioned, excited to get any information on his alternate family.

“Leo,” Raphael sighed, “is a different case. It's...It's hard to explain,” he finished, rubbing the back of his neck.

Mikey looked down, “...Sorry,” He told Raphael with a frown, who looked back at the young teenager in shock.

“No No, It's fine! Really,” Raphael exclaimed, waving his arms.

“ _ What the hell am I doing? _ ” He thought, “ _ I'm never this gentle around Mikey, literally _ or  _ metaphorically _ ,”

“Well,” Mikey started, looking back up at Raphael, whose arms were still up in defense, “I can tell you care about your brothers,” He said, smiling.

“Really? What gave you that idea?” Raphael asked, before realizing his phrasing, “Uh, not that I don't! That wasn't supposed to sound sarcastic, sometimes it just comes out like that. I mean, how can you tell? I thought I hid it well,” He chuckled, trying to lift the awkward atmosphere.

“Well, when we were talking about your...Splinter, I could tell the other me took it really hard. And, I mean, you looked like you were really worried about him,” Mikey said, sitting down and putting his head in his hand.

Raphael looked at him, “...we went through a lot,” was all he could say as an explanation, “I'm sure you and your brothers did, too,” He questioned, more than stated.

“Oh ya, definitely,” Mikey said, face falling into his outstretched elbow, “Everything with Baron Draxum and Big Mama, and Shredder too. Honestly, it gives me a headache just talking about everything that happened to us in the past year,” He sighed.

“Well, I don’t know about the first two you mentioned, but I can definitely agree with you when it comes to Shredder,” Raphael told him, a glint appearing in his eyes, “Bastard made our lives a living hell,” 

“Oh!” Mikey exclaimed, sitting straight up and starling Raphael, “What was your Shredder like? I mean, if  _ we’re  _ so different, just think about how different our  _ Shredder’s  _ were! Ours was a guy named Oroku Saki who was possessed by this demon armor and sent to the twilight realm a few centuries ago and then was brought back to life by the foot clan who gathered all the mystic demon armor together. Although I guess we were partly to blame because we brought Karai from the twilight realm too which kinda restored his mental state, but we fixed it in the end! How about your guy?” Mikey questioned, eyes turning back to the completely dumbfounded turtle in front of him, eyes wide with astonishment.

“Heh, sorry, was that too fast?” Mikey apologized, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

“No, it's just,” Raphael rubbed his eyes, “I didn’t think they'd be... _ that _ different,”

“It is? I mean, they are? Well, I guess it was expected. What was  _ your  _ Shredder like?” Mikey mentioned, falling back down to his arms, waiting to hear what Raphael was going to say.

“Our Shredder…” Raphael looked to the ground so that Mikey wouldn't see the glint of hatred and malice in his eyes, “was an insane son of a bitch who only cared about revenge and killing us. He wasn't possessed by anything, he was born a psychopath who only cared about himself, and deserves to burn in hell,” 

There was a beat of silence as Mikey stared unexpectedly at Raphael, whose eyes widened slightly, “How old are you?” he asked, unexpectedly.

“Um...13?” Mikey replied, confused at the sudden change in attitude.

“Guess I should cut back on the swears, then,” Raphael looked away awkwardly, “Sorry,”

Before Mikey could say anything in reply, Raph suddenly remembered something.

“Wait a second, you talked about Karai and all that twilight realm sh-  _ crap _ ,” Raphael corrected himself, “What about her? In our world, she’s Shredder’s adopted/kidnapped daughter and Splinter’s biological daughter, so technically our step-sister,”

“Karai’s your  _ sister _ ?!” Mikey exclaimed, standing up.

“I mean, I guess in the purest sense of the word, but she's more of a close family friend. She's not biologically related to any of us, after all, only Splinter, and it's not like we grew up with her,”

“Wait,” Mikey waved his hands, “you're  _ not  _ biologically related to your Splinter?”

“You are?”

“Well ya! That's where we got all our cool ninja skillz! Baron Draxum combined our turtle DNA with Splinter’s and stuff,” Mikey told Raphael.

“ _ What _ ?” Raphael questioned.

“Ya! What happened to you guys?” He asked, interested.

“We were accidentally mutated into our human-like forms because Splinter was the last person we touched, like how normal mutation works. Nothing intentional like how  _ your  _ mutation sounds like,” Raphael explained, before shaking his head in confusion, “Wait second, we were talking about Karai!”

“Oh,” Mikey hummed, “Karai’s actually our great great great great… uhh like x8 great-grandma,” He told Raphael, who stood straight.

“Grandma?!” He exclaimed.

“Yep! We call her gram gram,” Mikey said happily, before looking down as he remembered something, “Or, we did, at least,” He said, eyes closing slightly.

Raphael looked at him, confusion changing to understanding.

“...She passed?” He asked respectfully, earning a small nod from Mikey, “I'm sorry,” 

Mikey sighed sadly, “thanks,” 

A few awkward moments of silence passed between the two turtles before Raphael coughed nervously.

“So… do you like training?” He asked, trying to balance out the unpleasant atmosphere.

“Eh, every now and then,” Mikey said, putting on a small smile, “why?” 

“Well, Leo usually practices an hour before our actual training starts. He's probably in there now, actually, if you wanna…” Raphael offered, rubbing the back of his head, trying to hide any embarrassment. He wasn't usually the nice once.

Mikey's smile got wider as he thought about the proposition.

“Sure! It should be fun to see how you guys fight, ‘specially cause of how much older you are,” He declared, his fervor and excitement from before slowly coming back.

“C'mon,” Raphael said as he waved his hand, “I'll lead the way,” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna explain later why Raphael is trying to be nicer to Mikey, don't worry, there's a good reason!
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! Reviews are always appreciated!


	10. An Unexpected Turn of Events

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone’s doing their own thing when something unexpected brings them all back together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOF, it’s been awhile, huh! Welp, I’m back in another crazy rottmnt phase, so expect another chapter fairly soon (maybe). I wanted to add some more plot to this chapter, so here you go!
> 
> This one is longer than the previous one, but still a bit shorter than usual, so, sorry about that! I just wanted to get a chapter out cause I know it’s been a while.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> (Also sorry if there are typos or grammar mistakes, I didn’t feel like proof reading multiple times like I usually do)

Raph awoke with a gasp, as he sat straight up. It took him a few seconds to comprehend his surroundings, before remembering what had happened earlier. Looking to the bed he was previously sleeping by, he saw it nicely made, with the other Raph nowhere to be seen. 

Getting up cautiously, Raph made his way out of the room into the hallway.

“ _ I wonder where he went? _ ” Raph asked himself, before deciding to find his brothers. As he walked down the hallway, he came across the rooms he remembered seeing his brothers disappearing into, save for the Donnies.

Randomly, he picked one and knocked gently. Raph waited for an answer silently, and when he ended up with nothing, he decided to open the door to see if the room was empty. He was surprised at first to see it wasn’t, but then understood when he saw his younger brother, who was oh-so annoying, curled up in a ball on the floor.

Raph sighed before walking up to the smaller turtle and clearing his throat.

“Leo,” He said, trying to keep a little quiet in case anyone else was asleep. Seeing his brother turn uncomfortably, but not wake up, he sighed again and bent down to Leo.

“Leo!” Raph yelled this time, shaking his brother’s shoulder roughly.

What he got in return was a slap to the face and kick to the plastron, resulting in Raph falling backwards in astonishment of how deep a sleeper his brother was.

“Jeez, dad's snores must've been like sirens if they managed to keep even  _ him  _ up,” Raph remarked to himself, remembering the result of the lair games from not long ago.

Irritated, Raph got up to his knees and leaned towards Leo’s face. Taking a moment to think of what to say, Raph smirked to himself before he took a deep breath, and shouted.

“Leo! Wake Up! Shredders back!” Raph screamed in Leo’s ear, who, in turn, shot up in bewilderment, which then morphed into fear.

“WHERE?!” He exclaimed, trying to get to his feet, before falling on his face. Fixing himself up and finally standing, he put his hands up in a defensive position and ducked down.

Before Leo could say anything else, he heard chuckles from behind him.

“Huh, can’t believe that worked,” Raph laughed, earning wide eyes from Leo, as he stiffly turned his head to look at his brother in astonishment.

Surprise soon turned to anger, though, as Leo snapped to Raph.

“What the hell was that?!” Leo shouted furiously, earning a shush from Raph.

“The hell do you mean, ‘Shh’, you're the one who screamed that Shredder was here!” Leo exclaimed again, earning a flinch from Raph. 

“I was trying to wake you up,” Raph tried to reason.

“How about try, ‘Hey Leo, wake up’?!” He yelled at his brother.

“I tried that!”

“Well then what about shaking me-”

“I tried that too,”

“Well you didn't have to do  _ that _ !”

“What, would you have preferred me splashing water on you?”

“ _ YES _ !”

  
As the brothers continued to bicker, they heard a small voice from the doorway.

“Are you dudes ok?” Michelangelo asked, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

Both sets of eyes snapped to him in surprise. 

“Im sorry! Did we wake you?” Raph apologized profusely, before glancing at Leo in anger.

“Ya, but it's whatever, I usually wake up in a couple minutes anyway for training,” Michelangelo explained to the larger turtle.

“Training?” Both boys questioned incredulously.

“Ya we usually wake up earlier, but I guess Leo gave us a break because of what happened last night,” Michelangelo explained, earning odd looks from the others.

“You mean, your Leo gets you guys to wake up  _ early  _ for  _ training _ ?” Raph asked, dumbfounded. Earning a confused nod from Michelangelo, he continued, “Wow, I can barely get my brothers to train  _ at all _ ,” Raph said with a downcast glance.

Leo looked to his older brother, noticing the despondent expression.

“Don't be so hard on yourself Raph, you do great!” Leo reassured him cheerfully, “And besides, no offense to the other guy, but I would much rather have you as our leader. The way you are so carefree about training and missions is awesome!” He told Raph, trying to heighten his spirits, but instead making his brother even more gloomy than before.

Realizing what he’d done, Leo quickly looked to Michelangelo for assistance, who was beyond confused, but managed to come up with something.

“Uh, are you guys hungry? I can make you some breakfast if you want, and i'm almost positive Donnie made some coffee since he can't live without it,” Michelangelo said, grinning. Leo smiled and quickly looked to Raph.

“Um, sure, I guess we could go for something to eat,” Raph responded, earning an inward sigh of relief from Leo.

“Cool!” Michelangelo exclaimed, “just follow the leader dudes,” he said, gesturing towards the kitchen.

As the three walked, Leo leaned into his older brother.

“Don’t overthink it Raph, you’re a great leader,” Leo tried to tell him, earning a small smile from his brother in return.

“Thanks little brother,” Raph responded with a chuckle, nudging Leo’s shoulder, “by the way, since when were you such a deep sleeper?” 

“Hey, when dad’s snoring up a storm in the other room, you gotta adapt to actually get any rest,” Leo said nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders.

“Alrighty guys, so whaddya want? We got eggs and bread and… butter? That’s really it,” Michelangelo told them as he tried to think of breakfast meals.

“Whatever you guys usually have is fine,” Raph said to his alternate brother, who smiled and nodded.

“You got it bro,” he said with a thumbs up, looking in the fridge.

Pulling out the eggs, Mikey was about to place them down before he was knocked to the ground by vicious shaking.

“What the heck?!” Leo shouted, as he clung to his older brother to stop himself from face planting on the ground.

“Is this an earthquake?!” Raph shouted, trying to grab onto something to keep steady.

“Since when does New York have earthquakes like this?!” He heard Michelangelo yell from the now egg covered floor, holding his head.

“What the shit!” The three turtles heard from somewhere else in the lair, turning to see the doors to the dojo fly open.

“Is everyone alright?!” Leonardo shouted as he stumbled out of the dojo and grabbed the couch to make sure he didn’t fall.

“If you count face planting on the desks alright, then ya, we’re fine!” Donatello shouted as he stumbled out of his lab with the other Donnie not far behind, who had a bloody nose.

“WHY IS IT STILL GOING!?” Mikey shouted, scared out of his mind, as he clutched onto Raphael for dear life, his younger brother instincts kicking in.

“Donnie!?” Raphael yelled as he held onto Mikey tightly, hoping his brother knew what was going on.

“How am I s’possed to know?!” Donatello shouted back angrily.

Before any screaming continued, the shaking began to slowly die down, earning sighs of relief from everyone in the lair.

As the apparent earthquake stopped, everyone stayed silent for a few seconds, before all hell broke loose.

“What the hell was that!”

“Was that an earthquake?”

“In New York?!”

“I don’t know, what else was it supposed to be?!”

“Is anyone hurt?”

“After what just happened, I’d assume so!”

The shouting continued for a good minute, before Leonardo took a deep breath and stopped himself. Looking around, he attempted to get everyone calm.

“Alright,” he said, earning no looks, “I said alright!” Leonardo shouted much louder, getting everyone to turn their heads to him.

“We can talk about this later, first of all, is anyone hurt?” He asked, glancing over everyone.

“I’ve got a bloody nose, but it’ll stop, it’s not broken,” Donnie said, hand on said injury, before being offered a paper towel by Donatello.

“Ok, good, anyone else?” Leonardo asked again, before a groan sounded from the kitchen.

Heads darted to the turtle with an orange bandana, who had just fallen to his knees while clutching his head.

“Mikey!” Raphael shouted, running to his brother, along with Leonardo and Donatello. Raph and Leo backed out of their way, watching them bend down to their younger brother.

“Mikey, are you alright?” Leonardo asked next to Raphael, whose hand was on Michelangelo’s shoulder.

“Here, let me see him, he might have a concussion,” Donatello told Leonardo and Raphael as he pushed them to the side. Lifting up two fingers, Donatello held Michelangelo’s chin and gently forced it up, so he could see his hand.

“How many fingers am I holding up?” He asked calmly.

“Two?” Michelangelo asked quietly.

“Is that a guess or an answer?” Donatello questioned cautiously.

“Two,” He reaffirmed.

“Ok, good,” Donatello sighed, before continuing, “do you know where you are?”

“The lair,” Michelangelo replied, looking around.

“Do you know who I am?” 

Michelangelo squinted his eyes, worrying everyone.

“Napoleon Dynamite?” Michelangelo asked with a smirk, earning an offended expression from his brother at first, followed by one of relief.

“If he’s lucid enough to make jokes, he’ll be fine,” Donatello said to his brothers with a small chuckle, “an ice pack may do some good though,”

“Oh thank God,” Leonardo muttered with his face in one hand, still on his knees.

“Alright,” Other Leo said after a short pause, “now that  _ that's _ settled,” he began, chuckling nervously.

“WHAT THE HELL  _ WAS _ THAT?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!
> 
> Reviews are always appreciated!


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